The Nightmare Before Twilight
by Chloe Winchester
Summary: Pull over!...Is that a person?" Third in the Nightmare trilogy. Castiel's turn. Boredom is a cruel thing for me... Please R&R M for violence
1. Chapter 1

--NO slash intended here, fyi--

**The Nightmare Before Twilight**

"_Sammy…Sammy, help me." _

_Darkness…Silence…pain…_

_Castiel,_

_Surrender._

_-Alastair_

"_This is my fault, it's all my fault."_

"_Cas, no."…_

"_Not that, please, not that!"…_

"_I can heal you…"_

"_Please…"_

"_I'll take it to the grave…" Alastair said. _

"_As will I…" Said Uriel._

_2 Months later_

"_D-Dean."_

"_SAMMY!"_

"_Sammy, why can't you talk?"_

_Too bright…needles…And harder until it was a downright seizure…_

"_DEE-AANN!"_

"_Your brother was sexually assaulted."_

"_I'm…s-sorry, D-Dean."_

"_Shh, no, Sammy."_

…_So humiliated, so used, so…so naked._

"_It's gonna go away, Sammy…"_

"_Cas, can…can you heal him? Like you healed me?"_

"_Dean…I can't."_

"_Why should he have to suffer when I didn't?"_

_Thanks for giving me your brother, boy. He sure was fun to play with. It's a funny world we live in. I got to torture all three of you Winchesters. And one didn't even have to go to Hell for it. You better tell that angel that if he and his friends don't back down and let the inevitable happen, it's gonna get ugly. Uglier than it already has been__._

_Hope Sammy's doing well._

_Best regards,_

_Alastair_

"_Sammy, stop! Stop, stop it!"_

"_I c-can't get him off, D-Dean."_

"_You'll get him off…"_

…_What Alastair could possibly do next. If he only knew…_

**2 months later…**

"Hey, pull over!" Dean said suddenly, making Sam jump. Sam twisted the wheel and slowed the Impala to the shoulder.

"What?"

"Look," He gestured out the windshield. "Is…Is that a person?"

And so it was. Huddled together in a ditch that was still filled with water from the night's previous rain. The face was buried in their knees, shaking all over. The brothers exited the car, jogging to the ditch. Dean knelt down in front of the person.

"Hey, buddy, you okay?" He asked, touching the man's shoulder. He flinched away, pressing his face deeper into his knees and whimpering.

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Dean said. "We aren't gonna hurt you, okay?" He coaxed the man's face up. Bloodshot blue eyes looked back up at him, filled with tears and completely and utterly terrified. "Cas?" Dean breathed, questioning what he was seeing.

"D-Dean?" The angel stammered. The blood left the hunter's face as he looked down at his guardian angel. His injured, scared, guardian angel.

"God, Cas, what the hell happened to you?"

"Dean!" Castiel clamped his arms around Dean, sobbing. Dean hugged him back, scared. Castiel hardly ever showed any kind of emotion, let alone this. This was too much. He looked beside him and saw Castiel's trench coat lying on the ground. He watched the sky turn black in the early evening hours in seconds, vicious lightning stabbed at the sky and thunder shook the ground. Dean could feel Castiel's heart pounding in his chest against his own so rapidly it was like humming bird's wings. His breath was quick and labored.

"Cas, Cas you gotta calm down," He looked at the angel, gaining his focus. "You have to calm down or you're gonna kill whoever's in this body with you." He knew Castiel heard him, he saw the understanding in his eyes. But Castiel's heart did not slow. His breath did not relax.

"D-Dean, I…I…" Castiel gasped.

"Shh…" Dean soothed. "Breathe with me, okay?" Dean took a slow, deep breath. Castiel copied as best as he could. Dean continued to breathe deeply, waiting for the angel to relax. He looked up at his brother, who was at an equal loss of what to do. Castiel's heart calmed to a reasonable level, his breath slower but rattling.

The rain started to pour. Castiel shivered and leaned into Dean, shielding himself.

"Okay, Cas, we're gonna get you out of here, okay?" He said. Castiel's grip tightened on Dean's shirt so much it hurt. Dean winced and hoisted Castiel up. Sam came around on the other side and pulled the angel's arm over his shoulder. As quickly as they could, the two brothers hauled him to the Impala. Sam opened the door.

Dean laid Cas down in the back seat as carefully as he could. He draped the blanket he withdrew from under the seat over him, still unsure whether or not this was a terrible nightmare or not.

"You're gonna be alright, Cas." Dean said, giving him a small reassuring smile. He started to back away. Castiel gripped his forearm with an alarming amount of strength, his eyes begging Dean not to leave.

"Cas, Cas, it's okay, relax," Dean said, gently using his other arm to take the angel's hand away. "It's okay. I'm gonna be right up there, okay? You'll be able to see me." Castiel nodded slowly and swallowed. Dean shut the car door and looked up at his brother.

"What the hell is going on?" He said. Dean shrugged.

"I have no idea. But something scared the shit out of him." He said quietly. Sam looked down at Dean's shirt, his eyes growing.

"I think they did more than that." Dean looked down, his brows furrowing. The front of his shirt was soaked in blood. As were his arms and his hands. He shook his head.

"What would hurt an angel?" He asked.

"A demon."

"Yeah, but which one? Lilith would have killed him. Alastair's dead, who did this?"

"I don't know," Sam said. "But we gotta get back to the motel room."

Dean nodded and opened the passenger side door, sliding in and looking back at the angel. Castiel's eyes were shut, his face was pale and covered in a cold sweat. He jumped when the car started, turning his face into the upholstery. Dean reached back and gently touched his hand, so as not to startle him. Despite his efforts, Castiel flinched and turned to him, wide eyed.

"It's gonna be alright." He said. Castiel relaxed, closing his eyes again.

Dean faced forward, glancing at his brother before the car pulled back on the road and headed down the highway. Dean reflexively kept glancing at the rearview mirror, making sure the angel was alright. After awhile Castiel actually fell asleep.

***

"PLEASE! PLEASE NO!" Castiel screamed, writhing in the shackles that bound his wrists. The horrible, horrible instrument came at him again, light glinting off the blade. He screamed, water leaking out of his eyes. He didn't know what it was. "I BEG YOU, PLEASE! NO MORE! NO MORE!" The instrument clattered to the ground with a clang. The demon came toward him, grinning that inhuman grin.

He gasped for air, the wetness in his eyes leaking further.

"Aww…" The demon cooed. "Ickle angel's crying. Poor baby." Castiel turned away from the man's horrid face, closing his eyes.

He heard the man moving around, and he knew there was more agony to come.

"You better man up," The demon said. "'Cause I'm just getting started."

***

"Cas! Cas, calm down!" Castiel fought against Dean, screaming and trying with all his might to get away from him.

"NO! NO, LET ME GO! PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" The sky responded to his voice with a hellacious clap of thunder.

"Castiel, listen to me!" Dean held his arms down on the bed, trying to prevent him from hurting himself. "Wake up, you gotta wake up! You're gonna kill this guy, please!" He was amazed at the strength Castiel had even when he was injured like this.

Finally, the angel's eyes opened, but his nightmare stuck with him.

"Please, please don't hurt me!" He begged.

"Cas," Dean let go of his arms. "Look at me, it's alright. I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? I'm not gonna hurt you. Shh…" Castiel looked up at his charge, registering that he was there.

"I, I was th-there. I, I wasn't h-here. I-"

"Shh…" Dean soothed. "You've never had a nightmare before, have you?" Castiel shook his head.

Dean turned to Sam, who was standing off to the side. They had been carrying Castiel in when he started having the panic attack.

"It's over now, it's over. Shh…" He said. There was such innocence in his eyes, such trust. It made Dean wonder what else Castiel had never experience. "Alright, we gotta get all this blood off of you, okay?" He said. Castiel nodded weakly. Dean carefully lifted him up and headed for the bathroom. Sam turned on the water and stepped out of the bathroom, feeling slightly awkward.

Dean knelt down, Castiel's head resting on his shoulder, too exhausted to lift it. Dean literally had to peel Castiel's shirt off, and that went for most of his clothes. He carefully lifted the angel into the tub, holding him up. Castiel gasped when he felt the warm water wash over him, leaning into Dean a little more.

"It's alright, Cas. Just relax."

Castiel was still shivering, and Dean checked several times to see if the water was too cold. He wondered if Castiel might actually have a fever, or well, his vessel did.

Once the blood cleared Dean could see the wounds. Wounds that he'd seen before. Castiel winced, moaning slightly.

"Shh…" Dean said, taking his attention off of the cuts, bruises and scars.

Dean turned off the water and quickly grabbed a towel. Castiel sighed, his head falling on Dean's chest, his wet hair dripping onto his shirt.

He moved Castiel to one of the beds in the room. He covered him up with a sheet and grabbed the first aid kit.

"What can I do?" Sam asked.

"We need peroxide." Dean said. Sam nodded, grabbed the keys to the Impala and walked out of the room.

Everything seemed to have gone out of Castiel. His limbs were limp, his eyes closed, he looked as if he'd been through a war that he fought by himself.

"How do you bear this?" He whispered.

"What?" Dean asked.

"This feeling…this, this…"

"Pain?"

"Pain." Castiel repeated.

"You've never felt it before, have you?" Dean said quietly.

"Not physical pain, no." The angel rasped. Dean winced.

"Cas, who did this to you?"

"Alastair." Castiel said, his voice cracking.

"That's not possible," Dean said quickly. "He's dead, Cas, he's dead."

"He's dead here," Castiel trembled. Dean looked at him, shaking his head slowly. "I've been in Hell, Dean."

"No, no," Dean said. Castiel shut his eyes, shaking all over at his words. "How long?"

Castiel kept his eyes closed.

"There…or here?"

"There."

"A month." Dean could hardly hear him.

"Four days here?" The broken angel nodded, still trembling uncontrollably. He looked up at Dean, tears in his eyes.

"You're the only one that can understand," He whimpered. "You're the only one." Dean scooped the angel into his arms, not knowing what else to do. Castiel sobbed into Dean's chest. The storm started up again outside. He understood now why the wounds looked so familiar. He'd received them himself. And from the same person Castiel did. Alastair was right. It's a funny world we live in.

"I…It was…Dean…" Castiel cried, once again gripping Dean so tightly it hurt.

"Shh…I know, Cas," There weren't words for it. Absolutely none. "I know."

"They took m-me to H-Hell…" He breathed. "Th-they took me t-to Hell."

"Who took you to Hell?" Dean asked. Castiel looked up at him.

Tbc…

--Don't u love cliffhangers? I know I do :) Feedback please!--


	2. Chapter 2

**The Nightmare Before Twilight**

"Who took you to Hell?" Dean asked. Castiel looked up at him.

"One of m-my brothers," Castiel said softly, almost as if he was scared someone would hear him. "And th-they would have to have orders to do it." Anger flared in Dean's stomach and traveled all the way up to his eyes.

"Why would they do this to you?" He asked. Castiel bowed his head, tears sliding down his cheeks.

"M-my disobedience." He breathed.

"Cas, don't," Dean said. "Don't you blame yourself for this. You didn't do anything wrong. And I don't think that's what this is. I think this is something bigger than that."

"UHN!" Castiel yelped, his body tensing.

"What's wrong, Cas?" Dean exclaimed, looking Castiel over.

"It hurts," Castiel cried bitterly. "It h-hurts, Dean."

"Shh…" Dean hugged the angel. Where the hell was Sam? "It's alright, Cas. It's okay."

"I can't g-get it out of m-my head," He whimpered. "It won't g-go away."

"I know, I know," Dean soothed, cupping the nape of his neck. "It will. Someday it will."

But right now it wouldn't, right now he couldn't make the memories stop. Right now all he thought of was pain.

***

The whip was made of fire. The glow was bright every time it struck him. Alastair laughed when he screamed. It both cut and burned him in the same spot. Alastair walked around him, using the flaming instrument whenever he fancied. In front of him, beside him, behind him, it didn't matter. It lashed out at him again.

"AHH! PLEASE, Alastair, please, no more," Another stroke. "PLEASE!"

"You can beg me all you want, angel," Alastair said, slashing it across his chest. "But I'm not going to stop. This will not stop. There is no way out. You're trapped here, with me."

He brought the whip down with such ferocity it took Castiel's breath away.

And Alastair used the instrument until there was nothing left of the angel. For a fleeting moment of hope, Castiel thought he would surely die. But nothing of the sort happened. To his horror he was made whole again, every wound gone. His naked body was perfect and untouched.

"No," He breathed. "No, please, no!"

"I told you, angel, it doesn't end for you."

***

Castiel hung there, bleeding from the beating Alastair had given him hours before. He trembled in the darkness, praying as hard as he could for someone to save him from this unholy place. But nothing happened. His father remained silent. His brothers and sisters remained silent. He was truly and utterly trapped here. He remembered being dragged here by someone in their celestial form, someone that left him here in his vessel's body, naked and at this monster's mercy.

Alastair strolled up, grinning.

"Ya know what hurts, Castiel?" The angel didn't answer, Alastair always did for him. The demon's hand came toward him. Castiel flinched away. Alastair touched his arm and a sizzling sound filled the air. "Touching you. That hurts. 'Specially when I don't have a meat suit to protect me. Ya know what else hurts?" Seemingly from nowhere he conjured a wooden crucifix. The same sizzling sound. "That hurts to. Unless it looks like this," He turned the cross upside down in his hand. The sound stopped. "Ahh, much better. See, this doesn't hurt me," He threw his arm out, pressing the defiled cross to Castiel's chest.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHNNNN!" It burned him worse than any fire ever could. It burned him all the way to his bones. He sobbed when Alastair took it away.

"And don't you go leaving this meat," He said sternly. "Or I'll hurt this poor bastard worse than I ever have you." He pressed the cross against Castiel's throat.

"GAAAAHHHhhhh!" It took his voice away. Castiel inhaled raggedly, the action making it feel like his throat caved in. But he had to breathe.

"You want more?" Alastair asked. The angel shook his head violently. "Sorry, what was that?" Castiel shook his head again. "Sorry, I can't hear you." Castiel whimpered. He knew it was coming again. And it did. Over, and over, and over, and over…

Alastair burned all of his flesh away. But, just as before, he was whole again as soon as that happened. Alastair walked away, chuckling to himself. Castiel hung in those horrid shackles, wondering what he could possibly do next.

***

Alastair traced the knife over Castiel's cheek, the cold blade barely touching his skin. He trembled in fear, his frightened eyes wide, pleading, innocent. Alastair smiled and walked behind him. He hadn't said a word since approaching the angel, and that worried him. He felt the blade trace lines on his back. Two that ran parallel to each other on either shoulder blade.

"No," Castiel whispered. "Please, Alastair no." He heard a chuckle before blinding pain jolted from his back. And it happened again.

"PLEASE! ALASTAIR, PLEASE, NO! I BEG YOU!" He felt the demon's hand reach inside one of the long cuts he had made. He forced the wing out, and the other one as well. They stretched out, grazing walls next to them. Castiel sobbed in pain and fear. Why would Alastair want his wings?

The demon walked around to face him, bending down and taking something off the ground.

"You know," He said once he had straightened up. "I never thought you guys actually had these. But I was recently told otherwise. This is the only way you get around, isn't it?" Suddenly Castiel was plastered to the wall behind him, shackles coming undone, unable to move.

Alastair looked down at what he had retrieved from the ground, and Castiel saw it too. A hammer and heavy, iron nails. Large ones he had only seen in depictions of the Messiah's death. "You figure it out yet?" Alastair said, grinning at him. Castiel glanced at his now paralyzed wings.

"No, no, Alastair, please. Please, have mercy!" Alastair chuckled and moved toward him. Castiel tried with all his might to move them, to get them out of this man's reach. But they wouldn't budge.

The demon pressed the nail into the wing's joint and pulled the hammer back.

"PLEASE! Not my wings, not my wings, Alastair, please." He turned his head away as the hammer came down. Searing agony erupted from that spot, and it intensified when Alastair swung again, and again, and again until the nail was fully in the wall and through his wing.

Castiel sobbed, and shuddered when Alastair moved to the other side of him.

"Please, Alastair, not my wings, please." Castiel begged weakly. Alastair looked the angel in the eye as he pulled the hammer back and nailed his other wing to the wall.

"AAHHHUHHHNNN!" He screamed. Alastair stepped back, grinning at him. The demonic hold Alastair had on him was lifted. And he fell forward, being only supported by the nails. "Father! Father, help me!"

"Don't you get it?" Alastair asked. "There is no God here. I am God! You're alone!"

Castiel was slammed into the wall again, his arms stretched out next to him.

"You're willing to do anything to help the humans win," Alastair said. "A savior, aren't you?" He was grinning, mocking him. "You should know better than to be a savior. Do you know what happens to saviors?" His grin made the angel's blood run cold. Alastair put his lips next to Castiel's ear. "They get crucified." Without any other warning a nail drove through his hand.

"GAAAAAHHH!"

"What's wrong, angel?" Alastair asked gleefully. "Not ready to be punished for humanity's sins?"

"GOD, HELP ME! PLEASE FATHER, HELP MEEE!" Castiel begged.

"God can not help you! I AM GOD! YOUR BROTHERS WILL NOT HELP YOU! YOUR 'FATHER' WILL NOT HELP YOU!"

"PLEH-EASE!"

"Who do you think can help you? Who else could GET YOU OUT OF HERE?!" He slammed a nail into his other hand. "WHO DO YOU WANT TO SAVE YOU IF YOUR FAMILY CAN'T?!"

"DEEE-AAAAANNNN!" Castiel threw his head back, sobbing uncontrollably. Alastair laughed.

"Well that was the last person on my list," He said. He knelt down, grabbing Castiel's ankles and placing one over the other. Castiel struggled against him, but it was a weak and pathetic effort. "Ah, knock it off. Won't do any good to fight me." But Castiel tried. He gained nothing. The nail went through all the same. He cried hard, uncontrollably. He looked at his wings, the blood an awful sight against the stark white feathers. Touching them was too personal for Castiel's liking. Alastair had violated him in a way that no one else had.

"You cry, little angel, go ahead. Won't do anything except make you look weak. But you go ahead and cry."

Once again, Alastair took his hold off of Castiel and let him be supported by the nails and the nails only. He cried, ignoring what Alastair had said. The demon walked away, leaving him there. The angel bowed his head, sobbing. And for the first time in his eternal life, he wanted someone to comfort him. He wanted someone to take him away from this place. But there was no one, there was no escape. He was totally and utterly alone.

***

Alastair came back days later and pulled the nails out, one by one.

He stood in front of Castiel, grinning, held out his hand and clenched his fist, slowly turning and twisting the nails out. He fell forward, flat on his face, unable to support himself at all. His cheek was pressed against the hard ground, tears seeping into it. Alastair stood over him.

"You're side will lose, Castiel. This whole apocalypse thing is inevitable, why fight it? Just let it happen. Surrender. If you tell me you surrender right now, I can make you whole and get you out of here." He squatted down next to him.

"No." Castiel rasped.

"C'mon. It'd be so easy. And all this pain can stop right here, right now. All you have to do is stop fighting."

"No."

"What do you owe these humans, anyway? I mean, yeah, you got Dean out of here. Fought tooth and nail to get him out and he's not even grateful for it. He treats you like crap. He doesn't give a shit about you. You might as well let him die for the thanks he gave you," He leaned down closer. "Surrender, Castiel."

Castiel sneered at the demon and spit in his face.

"We need to take him back." Someone said that was out of Castiel's sight. Alastair stood, wiping his face and glowered at the angel.

"Not just yet."

***

The white light dragged him up and up, mercilessly gripping his arm. When they broke through the throng of demons and bright sunlight blinded him. He shut his eyes against the harsh light. He fell to the ground, back into his vessel's body with his vessel's soul as well. He kept his eyes closed against the harsh light, putting his face in his knees, praying that someone would help him. He hugged his knees, trying to ignore the pain that wracked his body.

Hours passed in this place. This wet, cold place. It was better than Hell. But he was still alone, totally alone.

The sun started to fall behind the horizon. It would be dark soon, and colder than it already was.

He heard a car pull up. He kept his face buried and started to tremble in fear.

"Hey, hey buddy, you okay?" Someone said. They touched his shoulder. Castiel jerked away. Bad things happened to him when people touched him. "Hey, hey, it's alright," The voice was gentle. But it could be deceiving him. "We aren't gonna hurt you," Someone was probing his face up. He dared to let the person fool him into security. He looked up. "Cas?" Relief greater than any he had felt in his whole life washed over him as he looked up at this face.

"D-Dean?" He hated how small his voice was. Dean went pale and looked at his body.

"God, Cas, what happened to you?"

"Dean!" He hugged him because Dean was the only one that could possibly understand what had happened to him. The only one.

No one else had been there for him. Not his brothers or sisters, not his father, but his charge.

***

And his charge was the one holding him right now. Telling him it was alright. That everything would be okay.

"D-don't leave me." He begged.

"Shh…" Dean soothed. "It's okay. I'm not goin' anywhere," Castiel gripped him tighter, crying into his neck. "It's okay, Cas. It's alright. But you gotta relax your grip a little. You're hurting me." Castiel let him go, cursing himself.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He whimpered.

"Hey, it's alright. Relax." Dean said. He hugged the angel tighter.

He heard the Impala pull up outside. Finally…

"You're gonna be alright, Cas. You're gonna be fine." He said.

"Don't leave me."

"I won't, Cas. I won't."

He held Castiel to him, knowing that he couldn't let him go. Castiel had no one. He was alone, totally alone. But Dean was going to make sure he had someone to hang onto. Someone to tell him to fight and keep fighting. Like Castiel had done for Dean before.

Sam opened the door, peroxide in hand.

"Alright, Cas, we gotta fix you up, okay?" The angel nodded weakly. Dean lied Castiel down, taking his hand to calm his fears.

"It's gonna be okay." He said.

But Castiel was still scared. And it was about to get a lot worse.

tbc…

--More soon!--


	3. Chapter 3

**The Nightmare Before Twilight**

Dean started to clean the horrible wounds on Castiel's body with a rag soaked with peroxide. The angel gasped in pain and looked up at him, confusion and pain in his fever struck eyes.

"Wh-why are y-you hurting m-m-me?" He breathed. Dean gently touched the angel's forehead.

"I'm not trying to hurt you, Cas, I promise. This'll make it better, okay?" He said softly. Castiel's lower lip trembled as he looked up at the hunter, that same raw trust in his face. "It's gonna be okay." Dean assured.

He cleaned the rest of Castiel's wounds without further incident. Until he looked at Castiel's hands. He hadn't noticed them before, the large deep red circles that were bruised around the edges.

"Cas, what happened to your hands?" He asked. Castiel shut his eyes, whimpering at the memory. Dean went on a hunch and pulled the sheet he had draped over the angel up, revealing his ankles. Dean winced and put the sheet back. "What the hell…Stigmata?" He said. A tremor went through the angel's body as he nodded. "That sick son of a bitch."

"Sam could you get me some water?" Dean asked. Sam nodded and went to the sink. Dean wrapped the angel's hands and ankles, trying not to imagine what Castiel had gone through.

Castiel was still trembling violently when Dean pulled out the materials to stitch up some of the deeper cuts. Sam sat the glass of water on the nightstand.

Castiel was calm until Dean started applying the stitches. His eyes opened at the sudden discomfort. He saw the hooked needle and cried out, tensing and trying to pull away from him.

"D-don't! P-please, Dean d-don't hurt m-me, please!"

"Hey, hey, easy, Cas, easy," Dean said. Castiel didn't look at him. His eyes were on the needle in his skin. "Hey," Dean lifted the angel's chin, making him look at him. "It's just stitches, Cas. It's a good thing. I know it stings, but it really helps, okay?" Sam nudged Dean's shoulder with something hard. He turned, recognizing the whiskey bottle in his brother's hand.

"Thanks, Sammy," He said, taking the bottle from him and unscrewing the cap. He carefully picked up Castiel's head and tipped the bottle into his mouth. "Just a mouthful, okay?" He said.  
The angel drank without question and began coughing when he swallowed.

"Burns." He rasped. Dean nodded.

"I know, I know," He said. He poured a little on the wounds and grabbed the needle again. "Feels a little better, right?" He asked. Castiel nodded. He shut his eyes and turned his head away from the sight.

Dean hated that he was making Castiel feel this way, that the sight of the needle itself scared him. But he understood why. He understood the feeling very well. He remembered what he felt when he picked up a knife for the first time when he was out. How he wanted to run and cower when someone threatened him with a blunt object or a blade. Loud noises bothered him too. But it passed after awhile…almost completely…Almost.

Castiel winced and whimpered, burying his head deeper into the pillow.

"Shh…It's okay, it's okay." He soothed, rubbing his forehead. Sam stood off to the side, waiting to be useful in some way.

Dean finished with the rest of the wounds and covered them. He lifted Castiel's head again, grabbing the cup of water off of the nightstand next to him. Castiel groaned and turned his head away.

"I d-don't want an-anymore."

"Shh…It's just water," Dean assured. "I'm not givin' you anymore, alright?"

As soon as the water passed through his dry lips Castiel instantly began drinking rapidly.

"Easy," Dean said. "Easy." Castiel paused once to breathe, and then attacked the glass again.

"Relax," Dean said quietly. "I'm not gonna take it away from you, Cas." The angel drained the glass in less than two minutes.

Dean lied him back down, feeling his forehead again. He coaxed Castiel's mouth open and slipped a thermometer inside. 104.6. He sighed, shutting his eyes for a moment.

_First things first,_ He thought. _He needs clothes._

He dressed Castiel as carefully as he could, making an attempt not to scare him. After half a dozen reassurances the angel made an effort to relax. When Dean tried to slip a T-shirt over his head Castiel cried out and shrunk away from it. Dean put it back in his bag without any sort of question. He moved to lay the angel down when Castiel hugged him again. Dean hugged him back without any hesitation.

"Thank you." Castiel whispered. Dean nodded and set him back down on the pillows. Castiel winced deeply, hissing and arching his back off of the bed slightly.

"Cas, what's wrong?!" Both Dean and Sam exclaimed in unison.

"Dean, step back," Castiel said softly. "Please! …Sam…get back, please!" Dean scrambled off the bed and backed to the far wall with his younger brother.

Castiel screamed as his back arched once more. There was a flash of light, bright and blinding.

When it faded two bloodstained white wings stretched out next to him, almost touching the walls on either side of him.

Dean and Sam looked at them, wide eyed and almost disbelieving. Castiel's chest heaved, as if in relief from some heavy burden. He kept his eyes closed, his forehead creased in pain.

Dean dared to step forward first. He looked at the bloodied feathers, understanding what exactly happened to them. He sat down next to the angel like he had been.

"Alastair did this to them too, didn't he?" He asked. Castiel whimpered and nodded. "Will they heal?"

"Eventually," The angel breathed. "These wounds are unholy, and they were received in an unholy place…It hurt just to _be_ there, Dean. I am unsure when they will heal. But they will, faster than any normal human's would. But not as fast as I'd like." Dean nodded.

"You need to rest, Cas. I know how tired you are, you have to sleep." He said.

Castiel looked at him, his eyes fearful.

"It's alright. I'll be right here." He promised. He grasped the angel's bandaged hand for reassurance.

Castiel's sleep heavy eyes drooped closed, and stayed that way soon.

"He has no idea what to do, Sam." Dean whispered. Sam sat on the bed opposite him.

"I know. I don't understand what he could have possibly done to deserve something like that." He said.

"Nothing. Castiel didn't do a damn thing to deserve any of this. He's an angel for Christ's sake." Dean spat. Sam nodded.

"I'm gonna get a room next door," He said. "There's no room in here." Dean shook his head.

"Don't," He muttered. "I probably won't sleep tonight." Sam sighed that bitchy sigh of his that drove Dean nuts. He knew there was a Mom lecture coming before he even started.

"Dean, you need to sleep. It's not going to help either one of you if you stay awake." He said.

"What if he wakes up?" He said.

"You're right there." Sam said pointedly. Before anything else was said he walked out of the motel room, bag in hand.

Dean stayed awake for as long as he could, but fatigue got the best of him soon enough and he let go of Castiel's hand reluctantly. He collapsed on the bed next to him, falling asleep in seconds.

***

He woke up a few hours later with the feeling that something was seriously wrong. And his fears were confirmed when he saw that Castiel's bed was empty.

"God, not again." He said, sitting bolt upright. He didn't have to look long to find the angel.

He stood, pain in his eyes and walked toward Castiel slowly.

The angel was huddled in the corner, curled into a ball, and looking at Dean like he was the most frightening thing he had ever seen in his life.

"Cas," He said gently, holding out his hands. "Cas, it's me, it's Dean." Castiel shook his head almost violently.

"No!" His voice came out as a tiny whimper. "No! You're a liar! What have you done with him?" Castiel shook harder and harder as Dean got closer.

"Cas, it's me. I'm not a trick, I'm not a demon, and I am _not_ going to hurt you. I promised, remember?" Castiel covered his ears and shut his eyes.

"No, no don't do this to me, please! Do not deceive me this way…please!" He begged. Dean's heart ached at his words.

"Cas, Cas look," Dean grabbed the bottle of holy water out of his bag and splashed some on his arm. "Look, I'm not a demon."

"Lies," Castiel whispered. He was crying now. "Lies!" Dean reached out and grabbed the angel's shoulders, facing him squarely.

"Cas, Cas, if I was a demon how…how would I know about you sending me back in time? Huh, how would I know about that?" Castiel looked at him, sobs lightly shaking his body. His wings quivered along with the rest of him.

Dean could feel the heat coming from the angel's skin. This had to be a fevered delusion.

"C'mon, Cas, you're okay. I'm not a demon, it's just me, alright?"

"Dean..?" The softest whisper. Dean nodded, looking the angel in the eye.

"Yes, Cas, it's me. You're safe, okay?" The angel relaxed, uncurling from his fetal position. He collapsed in Dean's arms, sobbing. "Shh…Shh…"

"I-I'm sorry."

"Shh…It's alright, Cas. You just gotta rest, okay?" He hauled Castiel back up to the bed as carefully as he could and refused to let him go this time. Castiel cried into his chest, folding his arms to his own. "It's okay, shh…shhhh…" Dean soothed.

Castiel may have cried all night, Dean didn't keep track. He fell asleep sitting up somehow and still didn't let Castiel go. He didn't know when his guardian angel would get better, but he swore then and there that he would be there for him as long as he needed him. Because, like Castiel said, he was the only one that could understand.

***

"I can't be here long." He said. The demon nodded.

"Yes, I understand. You have your own agenda to tend to," He said. "I'm just glad you decided to listen to me. That egghead before wouldn't pay attention to damn word I said, and look where he ended up. Dead as a doornail."

"Yes, well hopefully Castiel will understand that we are stronger than he is now."

"I thought you didn't have a side, Zachariah." Alastair said.

"I don't," The angel snapped. "But that doesn't mean I can't help out one every now and then. Especially when fighting this is so pointless."

"Well said," Alastair grinned. "I may not be allowed topside anymore but I'll be happy to help anytime you need me." Zachariah nodded.

"If this message doesn't sink in this time Heaven will be taking its own actions, and under my orders this time. And without that pathetic vessel to give him that human strength. No, no he will be ours. I can guarantee it."

"You better get that in writing," Alastair said. "'Cause even the best forced lap dog can bite you."

"I doubt it," Zachariah snorted. "Castiel can't think for himself. Who would give him the reason to go against orders?" And with that the angel departed from the fiery place. Alastair chuckled and shook his head.

"Dean Winchester," He said. "You watch, Zachariah, he will make your lap dog bite." And he strode into the dark corner to which he was condemned, off to do what he did best.

**END**

--Well that's it for the "Nightmare" trilogy. But don't worry, i get bored a lot ;). Feedback plz!--


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